Following severe criticism by the opposition that proposed tax measures would trigger a fresh wave of inflation in the country, Minister for Planning and Development, Ahsan Iqbal Saturday said the government had only five days after assuming the charge to finalise the budget.
The minister, who opened debate on treasury benches, said it is not an ordinary budget because the government had only five days after assuming power to finalise budgetary proposals. Ahsan said market capitalisation of Karachi Stock Exchange reflects confidence of business community in the government.
The minister said KSE index increased by hundreds of points after the election and budget presented by his party. He said the new government had two options either to seek more loans and print notes that would have caused more inflation or go for measures to treat the economic reforms but we decided to take the later course of moving towards self-reliance.
Ahsan said the government would focus on eliminating corruption and maintaining transparency. The minister enlisted energy security, export-oriented growth, development of model infrastructure, restoration of peace and security, institutional reforms and human resource development as government priority which would be vigorously pursued by his party's government.
Ahsan said measures taken by the government in the budget would put the country's economy in the right direction and lay strong foundation of the economy. Meanwhile, Minister for Interior Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan responding to a point of order regretted attack on the residence of Quaid-e-Azam Muhammad Jinnah in Ziarat. Nisar said one constable lost his life in the incident and explosive material was recovered during search operation. He said an inquiry has been initiated into the incident and a detailed report would be presented in the House soon. The point of order was raised by Sufyan Yusuf and Shazia Mari regarding attack on the residence of Muhammad Ali Jinnah.